Houston–Tulsa football rivalry

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Houston–Tulsa football rivalry
First meetingDecember 2, 1950
Tulsa, 28–21
Latest meetingNovember 26, 2022
Tulsa, 37–30
Next meetingTBD
Statistics
Meetings total46
All-time seriesHouston leads, 26–20[1]
Largest victoryHouston, 100–6 (1968)
Longest win streakHouston, 5 (1968–1973)
Current win streakTulsa, 1 (2022–present)
Locations of Houston and Tulsa

The Houston–Tulsa football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between Houston and Tulsa.[2][3]

Series history[edit]

Both schools previously competed together in the American Athletic Conference from 2014 to 2022, Conference USA from 2005 to 2012, and the Missouri Valley Conference from 1951 to 1959, as well as playing regularly while Houston was independent (1960–75). The rivalry was particularly heated during the Conference USA period, when the two teams dominated the C-USA West Division.[3][4] Tulsa won the division title in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2012, while Houston won in 2006, 2009, and 2011. SMU in 2010 was the only other team to win the title during this period.

An infamous game in the rivalry occurred on November 23, 1968, when Tulsa traveled to the Astrodome despite the fact that most of the team, including 15 of 22 starters, was sick with the flu. Houston, which already boasted the nation's top scoring offense coming into the game, proceeded to win 100–6 after scoring 76 unanswered points in the second half.[5][6] As of 2023, Houston remains the most recent NCAA Division I team to score 100 points in a game.

Tulsa is Houston's most played opponent in football, while Houston is Tulsa's third-most played active opponent.

Houston joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023, putting the future of the rivalry in doubt.[7]

Game results[edit]

Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

Houston victoriesTulsa victories
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 December 2, 1950 Houston Tulsa 28 Houston 21
2 October 13, 1951 Tulsa Tulsa 46 Houston 27
3 October 11, 1952 Houston Houston 33 Tulsa 7
4 November 7, 1953 Tulsa Tulsa 23 Houston 21
5 November 6, 1954 Houston Houston 20 Tulsa 7
6 November 5, 1955 Tulsa Tulsa 17 Houston 14
7 November 10, 1956 Houston Houston 14 Tulsa 0
8 November 23, 1957 Tulsa Houston 13 Tulsa 7
9 November 1, 1958 Houston Tulsa 25 Houston 20
10 October 31, 1959 Tulsa Houston 22 Tulsa 13
11 November 26, 1960 Houston Tulsa 26 Houston 16
12 November 11, 1961 Tulsa Houston 14 Tulsa 2
13 November 10, 1962 Houston Houston 35 Tulsa 31
14 November 16, 1963 Tulsa Tulsa 22 Houston 21
15 October 10, 1964 Houston Tulsa 31 Houston 23
16 September 11, 1965 Houston Tulsa 14 Houston 0
17 November 5, 1966 Houston Houston 73 Tulsa 14
18 November 25, 1967 Tulsa Tulsa 22 #10 Houston 13
19 November 23, 1968 Houston #11 Houston 100 Tulsa 6
20 November 8, 1969 Tulsa Houston 47 Tulsa 14
21 October 31, 1970 Houston Houston 21 Tulsa 9
22 September 23, 1972 Tulsa Houston 21 Tulsa 0
23 December 1, 1973 Houston #14 Houston 35 Tulsa 16
24 November 30, 1974 Tulsa Tulsa 30 #15 Houston 14
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
25 November 29, 1975 Houston Houston 42 Tulsa 30
26 September 7, 1985 Tulsa Tulsa 31 Houston 24
27 September 27, 1986 Houston Tulsa 24 Houston 14
28 October 15, 1988 Houston Houston 82 Tulsa 28
29 September 5, 1992 Tulsa Tulsa 28 Houston 25
30 September 11, 1993 Houston Tulsa 38 Houston 24
31 October 1, 2005 Tulsa Houston 30 Tulsa 23
32 November 4, 2006 Houston Houston 27 Tulsa 10
33 November 10, 2007 Tulsa Tulsa 56 Houston 7
34 November 15, 2008 Houston Houston 70 #25 Tulsa 30
35 November 7, 2009 Tulsa #13 Houston 46 Tulsa 45
36 November 13, 2010 Houston Tulsa 28 Houston 25
37 November 26, 2011 Tulsa #8 Houston 48 Tulsa 16
38 November 10, 2012 Houston Tulsa 41 Houston 7
39 November 22, 2014 Houston Houston 38 Tulsa 28
40 October 3, 2015 Tulsa Houston 38 Tulsa 24
41 October 15, 2016 Houston #13 Houston 38 Tulsa 31
42 October 14, 2017 Tulsa Tulsa 45 Houston 17
43 October 4, 2018 Houston Houston 41 Tulsa 26
44 November 23, 2019 Tulsa Houston 24 Tulsa 14
45 October 1, 2021 Tulsa Houston 45 Tulsa 10
46 November 26, 2022 Houston Tulsa 37 Houston 30
Series: Houston leads 26–20[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Winsipedia – Houston Cougars vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. ^ "American Athletic Conference – Game Preview: Houston, Tulsa Renew American's Most-Played Rivalry". theamerican.org.
  3. ^ a b Murphy, Michael (November 9, 2007). "UH, Tulsa meet with West football title on line". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Bailey, Eric (November 12, 2010). "In lopsided rivalry, Houston needs a reason to hate TU". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 6, 2017. So back to the original question. Is this a rivalry Current fans for both schools can debate this question, but there probably is no debate from the gray-haired followers of Tulsa and Houston.
  5. ^ McDonald, Mark (September 8, 1985). "17 Years Later, Tulsa Fans Still Feel Houston Ran Up Score In 100–6 Loss". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  6. ^ "Gatlin was strumming triple-digit tune 45 years ago in Century City". Fox Sports. November 21, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  7. ^ Barron, David (June 10, 2022). "UH to join Big 12 sooner than expected after AAC exit fee agreement". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2022.